Exodus 14:19-31 (NRSV)
19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24 At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25 He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
The Pursuers Drowned
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Exodus 14:19-31 is part of the story of Israel's crossing of the Red Sea is found in two versions in Exodus, a prose account in chapter 14 (usually regarded as the earlier account, 14:19-31), and a verse account, the so-called "Song of Moses," in chapter 15. In the song, the Lord has thrown horse and rider into the sea. The Lord is a warrior. The Lord cast the chariots and armies of Egypt into the sea. The floods covered them. The Lord shattered the enemy. It describes that the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap. While the enemy pursued the Israelites, the Lord caused a wind and the sea covered them. The Lord loved this people and redeemed them. Read carefully, although not identical in details or sequence, the two accounts nonetheless recount, with a high degree of similarity, the central act of liberation for the Hebrew people. The exodus, with the crossing of the Red Sea at its center, became in Israel's religious memory and imagination, the paradigmatic act of Israel's god on Israel's behalf. The annual celebration of the Passover became the commemorative ritual celebrating the exodus from Egypt (Exodus 12:14-17).
The exodus proper - the actual movement of the people - begins at 12:33, immediately following the 10th and final plague against the Egyptians, the slaughter of the firstborn. Numbers 33:1-49 is a summary of the events of the exodus. It mentions that The Lord executed judgments even against their gods. It then gives this summary of the actual surrounding of the Red Sea. 9 … at Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. 10 They set out from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11 They set out from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Sin. The flight of the people - numbered at more than 600,000 foot soldiers (Exodus 12:37; Numbers 1:46), not counting the noncombatants, which could have brought the total to three or more times that number - was well under way by the time the Israelites found themselves, in this passage, trapped between Pharaoh's pursuing army and the sea (14:1-18). The Lord is bringing a people into being. The pattern here is like what we find in other pre-Israelite accounts. For example, Joshua 10:6-11 has the Gibeonites fearful of the Amorites, but the Lord telling Joshua not to fear them. When Joshua leads an army against them, their opponents panic. This allows Joshua and his army to slaughter their opponents. The Lord even throws down huge stones (hail), so much so that more of their enemies died in that way than by the sword. Another example is I Samuel 7:7-10, where Israel is afraid of the Philistines. They ask Samuel to cry out to the Lord for them. While Samuel is offering his animal sacrifice, the Lord thunders with a mighty voice to the point where they panic and Israel routs them.
Exodus 13:17-19, 14:5a, 7, 19a, 25a, is the E version of the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them to the land of the Philistines. God thought that if they soon face war, they might return to Egypt. God led the people a roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Coming out of Egypt, the Israelites are prepared for battle. Moses also took with him the bones of Joseph. When the king of Egypt learned the people fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials changed in attitude toward the people. He took 600 chariots.
19a The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them. In the canonical context, the divine being associated with the "pillar of cloud" is described here as an "angel of God." Elsewhere, in 13:21 (J) and 14:24 (P), the LORD is in the pillar. Although this detail again suggests a blending of originally distinct sources, the blending is a common one. In Exodus 3:2-6 (J), God alternates with the Lord, but note that in 3:2, the “angel of the Lord” is the designation. The canonical text understands the angel of God and the LORD to represent the same divine being, with the former serving as a manifestation of the latter. This is the only reference to an angel either being associated with the pillar(s) or leading the Israelite army. 25a He clogged their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty, destroying the army of Pharaoh. The strength of the army of Egypt was its chariots. However, their strength has now become a weakness. Israel would never develop chariots as part of its army due to the hilly terrain of its home. The closest parallel is with the crossing of the River Jordan. The original account of the Jordan crossing by Deuteronomic History simply records how the river becomes dry because of a temporary damming of the water upstream.
Joshua 3:2-3, 4b, 6-7, 9-11, 13-16, 4:10b, 11-14 (NRSV)
2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it,
4b Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.”
6 To the priests Joshua said, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.
9 Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 10 Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: 11 the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
13 When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”
14 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16 the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
10b The people crossed over in haste.
11 As soon as all the people had finished crossing over, the ark of the Lord, and the priests, crossed over in front of the people. 12 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the Israelites, as Moses had ordered them. 13 About forty thousand armed for war crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for battle.
14 On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him, as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.
The J account describes the time when the Lord truly brings a people into being. There is a discontinuity with the past. 19b And the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, beclouding the path of the Egyptians so that it disorients them in their pursuit of the Israelites, and it lit up the night, thereby illuminating the way for the Israelites; one did not come near the other all night. 21a Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea…. 24 At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic.. That the angel and the pillar of cloud are to be identified is suggested by the fact that the pillar moves when the angel moves from in front of the Israelites to behind them, i.e., between them and the Egyptians. In 13:21-22 (J), the narrative indicated two pillars, a pillar of cloud to lead the Israelites by day (13:21) and a pillar of fire to lead them by night (13:22). The purpose of both pillars was to lead the people at all hours, so that their flight could be made more expeditious. The cloud functioned in the night as well as in the day, providing luminescence for the Israelites to maneuver out of harm's way (v. 20b). 25bThe Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.” 27bAs the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea.
In verses 30-31, we have a theological interpretation of what the Lord has done. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. The Lord, who has become the divine patron of Israel, has done a great work. This work included the dead from the army of the Egyptians washing up on the seashore. This great work included the response of the fear of the Lord among the newly formed people. We can see clearly that the divine plan is in direct conflict with the plan of Pharaoh. We can also see that, based upon this mighty demonstration of power, the people put their trust in the Lord and the servant of the Lord, Moses. The mighty work of the Lord leads to faith or belief in the Lord and in Moses. Thus, we can see that faith is an important aspect of our notion of truth. The future discloses the reality of the truth in which one has faith.[1] One such event will not be enough to establish faith, for those who believe expect such moments to continue because deity has the power to do so.[2] The event of liberation becomes an aspect of the revelation, Israel believing in the Lord who has delivered them. The observation that Israel believed is a report of what will prove to be short-lived faithfulness by this people that emerges from the dramatic divine intervention on behalf of Israel.[3] We see the direct intervention of the Lord by natural events. We might even say that elements of myth interact with history in this event. The Lord rebuked the sea of chaos in creation. Such myth stands at the beginning of the creation of a people. Israel is passive. The Lord receives glory without human cooperation. We do see the faith of Israel, reminding us of the extensive theological reflection contained in the event. II Isaiah in 43:16-17, a prophet of the exile, reminds his listeners that they have come to believe in the Lord who makes a way in the sea and mighty waters and destroys chariot, horse, army and warrior. In 51:9-11, where the Lord tears Rahab the dragon into pieces, dries up the sea, and allows the redeemed to cross. He then holds forth the promise that the Lord shall allow the ransomed to return to Zion with praise and joy. In 44:26-28, he stresses that the Lord confirms the word of the servant and messenger of the Lord. The Lord will resurrect the dead cities of Judah. The Lord has sent Cyrus to be the shepherd to fulfill this promise. In Psalm 74:12-17, God works salvation by dividing the sea and breaking the dragons and the heads of Leviathan. In Psalm 89:9-12, the Lord rules the raging of the sea, crushes Rahab, and scatters the enemies. In Isaiah 55:12, the Lord will go in front of them and will guard them from behind.
The midrashic elements emphasized special protection of Israel, God redeems because of the promise to the Father, and that Israel came forth from Egypt in freedom. But the New Testament rarely continues the unbroken identification with exodus. Rather, it is usually placed in a new context from a Christian perspective. Thus, Matthew 2:15 has Jesus fulfilling the exodus tradition.
Facing adversity through to a successful conclusion can bring a diverse group of people together. This happened during the exodus, the leaving of an oppressed people from the political power of Egypt, the deliverance through the sea, and the eventual entrance into the promised land. This event is the celebration at the heart of Passover in the Jewish tradition. It made Moses, “the servant of the Lord,” the great liberator and giver of the Torah. He would become the great paradigm of a leader for these people for the next several centuries. The people cry out in panic and fear, but Moses will act with courage and confidence in the deliverance of the Lord. Note the conflict between the plans of Pharaoh for bondage and the plans of the Lord for liberation.
We know the famous story of this crossing. And we give thanks that the Lord worked so powerfully in this event to save the lives of his chosen people. But we also know that in our own lives, we cannot always count on a miracle to come along and get us out of a jam. When we find ourselves with a sea in front of us and an army at our backs, there is no promise that the sea will open up for us, that dry ground will appear, and that our enemies and opponents and pains and problems will be swallowed up in defeat behind us. Often, we have to get in a boat and start rowing. And when we do, God makes a way when there seems to be no way.
When we face sea crossings in our personal lives, it is so important to put our trust in the same thing that the Israelites did: the power and presence of the one Lord God. Which seas need to be parted? How will God clear the way?
First, have we crossed the sea of naiveté, having the courage to name our enemies? Yes, as Christians, we are to love our enemies. It also means that you have them and need to be aware of who they are. Moses was unafraid to name the enemies of his people. We need to be unafraid to do so as well.
Second, have we crossed the sea that threatened us, and still seen the power of God at work, as the Israelites did in a very different pillar of fire and cloud by the sea? A crisis can cause us to forget who is in charge. The songs of the church can remind us.
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.
I will sing, I will praise,
Even in my darkest hour,
Through the sorrow and the pain,
Lord it's hard for me to see
All the thoughts and plans You have for me.
But I will put my trust in You
Knowing that You died to set me free.
But I don't know what to say,
And I don't know where to start.
But as You give the grace
With all that's in my heart,
I will sing, I will sing,
Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.
- Children of the Heavenly Father
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
- A Mighty Fortress, verse 3
Of course, the Israelites saw the great work of the Lord against the Egyptians. The Lord was fighting for the Israelites. The world is, temporarily, a better place when evil is defeated. Those of you who lived through the rise of Hitler, those of us who saw the collapse of the Berlin Wall, can identify with the feeling of relief. Yet, when evil has a temporary victory, we wonder about the power of God. We wonder about the power of God, as well as about meaning and purpose. Where is the Lord when evil has its moment? The Lord is present in the bravery and courage of those who respond.
Third, have we crossed the sea of bitterness and anger and begun learning to do the work of forgiveness and reconciliation (Matthew 18:21-35)? One of the great themes of Christian teaching is forgiveness and reconciliation. Yet, it can be hard to affirm at certain times. The temptation is strong to turn away from the greatness of our calling by pursuing our own grievances against the enemy. Such a turn will turn one’s life into one petty battlefield.[4]
Fourth, have we crossed the sea of hopelessness, allowing it to change us for better? After passing safely through the Red Sea, the people were in awe of the Lord and believed the Lord and Moses (verse 31). I invite you to read Lamentations, a brief lament by someone who saw the leaders in Jerusalem taken away and the temple destroyed. The book is a lament, wondering where God is amid suffering. Yet, the book also affirms the mercy of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:21-26, 40-41 (NRSV)
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 "The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
40 Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord.
41 Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands
to God in heaven.
Fifth, have we crossed the sea of ignorance, and move on to understanding? It can be difficult to learn what is behind the actions of the enemy. Sometimes, it can help if we take extreme measures to do so. To have recognized what motivated Hitler in the 1930s would have saved lives. To recognize what motivates communists during the Cold war and now is simply a wise thing to do. We show much insight and wisdom if we learn what motivates Islamism or political Islam. Failure to do so places future generations at risk. Making the distinctions between differing factions of Islam, reading the Quran, are ways we can learn who the enemy is and who the potential partner might be.
A crisis will pull a community together or tear it apart. The counsel found in Ecclesiasticus, one of the books of the Apocrypha: ˜My son, if thou comest to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation. Set thy heart aright, and constantly endure, and do not make haste in time of calamity.' During trouble, turmoil, tribulation, and temptation, endure, do not rush, do not panic. Instead, slow down, inquire, and endure. When we pass through dangerous seas, God is giving us an opportunity to contemplate, reflect, persevere and endure. We can testify to our faith being forged -- not destroyed -- on the anvil of human adversity.
The P portion of the text expands upon the miraculous nature of this deliverance. 21bThe Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers.The gesture recalls 7:14-24, the first plague, with the striking of the water of the Nile by Moses with his staff, turning it into blood. The gesture of stretching out a staff over water, land, or heaven occurs in several of the plagues, as in 8:5-7, 16-17; 9:23; 10:12-13, 21-22. Here, the gesture is a salvific means of escape for the Hebrews and death to the Egyptians. 24 At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, the two pillars becoming one, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” 27a So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth, turning the strength of the army of Egypt, its chariots, into a weakness. A document from Mari, in Syria, reports that an army escaped across a river one night at low tide and the pursuing army was prevented from overtaking them when the tide later rose again. Some believe that the action of the sea might be rising and falling of the tide or shallow waters being blown back by wind in the southern part of the isthmus. The heavy Egyptian chariots became mired in the mud and were engulfed by the returning waters. In verses 28-29, the event destroyed the army of Egypt. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. Israel would never develop a strong army with chariots, in part because the hilly terrain was not suited to that form of army. We have an example of the crossing of the River Jordan in Joshua 3:2-3 4b, 6-7, 9-11, 13-16, 4:10b, 11-14. The Lord promises to be with them and drive out their enemies from the land. Upon entering the river, the waters stand in a single heap. The people crossed, becoming a large army, with the Lord exalting Joshua in the eyes of the people. At the narrative level, the emphasis placed on Pharaoh's powerful and sophisticated military machinery, in contrast to the defenseless Hebrews fleeing on foot, is meant to demonstrate that, despite overwhelming odds, the Israelites were able to escape through the miraculous intervention of the LORD. Historically, the Egyptian chariots mentioned here probably had a devastating psychological effect not only on the Israelites, but also on all Egypt's enemies who lacked the light, swift firing platforms that constituted the ancient two-wheeled chariot. Israel, of course, was never able to develop a significant chariot force, mainly because of its unsuitable hilly terrain and because of the expensive array of specialized designers, craftsmen, and builders necessary for chariot production. The great advantage of the chariot - its wheeled speed - becomes in the exodus narrative its fatal liability.[5]
The Lord will win glory at the expense of Egypt, and then, the Egyptians will know who the Lord is. Between the armies of Egypt and Israel, they did not grow closer to each other, as the cloud was dark, and night passed.
Liked the idea of have you crossed the sea? Good take and use of this mythological story.
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